xusandy wrote:Well, Pitino will recruit some awesome talent wherever he goes, but the dude is well into his 70s, and IMHO unlikely to stay there after he earns the mega bucks that he'll get as a guarantee. I think hiring him will be a big mistake UNLESS he brings along a loyal heir to take over within 2-3 years. After that, Rick the Snake (ask my wife and other UK fans about that moniker) could, and probably would, retire to the sweet life of umbrella drinks around the pool.
St. John's needs to not be wallowing in mediocrity anymore. Pitino will do that. He doesn't need an heir apparent if he turns the program around and wins games like people generally expect. The job will be desirable on a national level when he retires of expectations are met while he's there.
Honestly, I'm suspicious of heir apparents as a solution, because it's generally unproven assistant coaches that haven't shown what they can really do when they move one seat down. As a Xavier fan, you would know of the multiple times that worked (Prosser doesn't count as he did a season at Loyola-Chicago before coming back to Xavier), but you've also seen where it didn't work just in the last four years. Steele also didn't work despite being a long-time and nationally respected assistant who was part of the Xavier culture for years. He became heir apparent organically over time. That wouldn't be the case here.
Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2023 7:31 pm